Draquis: an eco-conscious swimwear brand
I wanted to use ‘sustainable’ for a long time as my core value. However, it felt like it was too vague, and people wouldn’t know what it really meant. I needed something a bit more specific. I did some research and found a couple of words that kind of meant the same, but they had slightly different meanings. I felt one captured my intentions best: eco-conscious.
What does eco-conscious mean?
According to my friend, the internet, eco-conscious means: “being mindful about the effect of our actions on the environment as well as minimizing their negative impact”. In my personal life, I always try to think about how my actions can affect the environment. The truth is, I don’t always know how the environment is affected by my actions; this means I need to learn and educate myself, and in that way, I am being mindful.
Almost everything we do impacts the environment in one way or another. It can be a small impact, a big impact, positive or negative. A lot of it is within our control, but not everything. Things like affordability, accessibility, awareness, and government policies play a huge role in this too. What I can do is not the same as my friend, my neighbor, or someone on the other side of the world. But if you are reading this, it probably means you have an interest, and that itself is already amazing! 🙂
Why being eco-conscious is important
The fashion industry is actually really bad for the environment due to overproducing (a lot of waste), chemical usage, and high energy consumption. These are just a couple of reasons; I will do a separate post about this soon. The environment has always been important to me, but I never really did any research into it when I was younger.
So when I finished my last study, I had spent a total of 6/7 years working towards doing something in fashion (had no idea what yet!). Along the way, I learned about environmental issues caused by the fashion industry, and I thought to myself: “I cannot contribute to this, but I just spent 6 years studying to do something in fashion. What am I going to do now!?”.
The only way I can continue in the fashion industry is if I know I am doing something, trying something, to change it. And change it for the better. Luckily, I am not the only one! There are many other companies that have the same idea as me; we just need you on board too!!
What does being eco-conscious mean for Draquis?
When I look at my company, there are many parts in which I need to consider the environment. There is the shipping of the items from the factory to my house, shipping from my house to the customers, the fabric production, the production of elastics and labels, the actual swim shorts production, packaging, etc. I need to consider emissions, waste materials, and what happens to the swim shorts when they reach what is called “end of life”. Basically when they’re not able to be worn again.
This is a lot of stuff, and I know it will be impossible to do it 100% environmentally friendly from the start or even in 5 years. But I will always try to do better and set goals for the future. One of Draquis' other core values is ‘improvement’. I am mindful of the environment (eco-conscious), and I strive to do better and improve in knowledge and actions (improvement).
One way to try and be more environmentally friendly is by choosing to work with factories in Portugal for environmental and ethical reasons.
Producing in Portugal
Because I found the fabric I wanted to use in Portugal, my attention was instantly directed to this country. In Portugal, every business has to comply with the Environmental Legislation of the European Union and to laws that ensure fair working conditions. Which means they have a basic set of rules to follow regarding environmental and ethical practices.
Keeping the production of fabric and clothing in one country lowers the emissions from transportation. It saves time and money in shipping, and it offers more transparency and traceability of the production process, since I would be able to visit the factories myself. Besides all this, in Portugal they produce clothing with amazing quality, what is not to love about that?!
Eco-conscious swim shorts
So, what does this mean for the swim shorts? In short: I have used a special yarn for the outer fabric called Amni Soul Eco®. This is an innovative yarn that quickly decomposes in landfill conditions in 3-5 years. Traditional synthetic fabrics can take decades or even centuries to break down! I choose to use this because of the big waste problem.
Every year, over one billion pieces of clothing are discarded into landfills. When these reach capacity, new ones need to be created, destroying natural habitats and agricultural land. In landfills, clothes release microplastics and toxic chemicals into the soil and water, contaminating ecosystems and posing risks to wildlife and human health. The use of Amni Soul Eco® minimizes the environmental impact of the swim shorts and reduces waste!
Of course, the shorts consist of more than just the outer fabric. The mesh lining, wash label, size label, elastics, and the drawstring are all made of recycled polyester. The aglets, or drawstring stoppers, are made of metal which can withstand harsh conditions like salt water and chlorine. Only our logo label is currently made of a non-sustainable material, virgin polyester. But don't worry, we are looking into other options.
Goals
Like I mentioned before, it will be impossible to be 100% eco-friendly from the start; this is why Draquis is called an eco-conscious brand. We are working to become more and more sustainable so that one day we can call ourselves an eco-friendly swimwear brand. We are working to improve in different aspects of the company, like finding a different material for our logo label, and hopefully finding an even better material than recycled polyester for all the trims. One of our biggest goals is to dive into our supply chain more. We want to learn about where our materials come from and where and how they are dyed. This is a long and difficult process, but the beginning is there.
If you have any questions or you would like to know more, always feel free to send a message or use the form on the contact page! I’ll be more than happy to answer all your questions! See you on my next post :) !